“Because, I’ll fucking kill him,” he answered in a low voice as he stood, taking the remote and explaining what I needed to press to make the PlayStation work, then he left the room quickly.
I didn’t see him again for the rest of the night.
Chapter two
Rory
“Dead bitch walking,” Claire pealed with laughter as I wandered into the cafeteria at school the next day.
I grabbed a can of soda from the vending machine, turning to walk away, but I ran into Claire and her friends who had managed to sneak up behind me.
I gave her a dirty look and snorted. “Move.”
“As if. You didn’t seem to understand me yesterday, so I’ll tell you in another way. You aren’t welcome here. Also, what the fuck are you wearing, you trailer trash whore?” She sneered, making me roll my eyes and give her a small smirk.
“We call them clothes. I know you aren’t used to them, but most people wear them all the time. It’s in chapter one of How not to be a little tramp guide for beginners. I’m assuming no one ever gave you a copy?”
She snarled, swinging her fist back, but the room went quiet as Caden’s voice spoke over all the noise from his usual table with the other guys.
“Claire, back off.”
Claire’s eyes widened a fraction before she scowled, obviously not used to being told what to do.
“What the fuck, Caden? You know she’s a problem here and has no right to prance around like she paid her way. She couldn’t afford to go to school here, so some rich prick’s paying for her. She’s fucking trailer trash, and…”
“I said, back off. Rory, get over here and stop fucking winding her up,” he snorted, jerking his head to motion me in his direction.
Well, cat was outta the fucking bag now, wasn’t it?
People whispered as I made my way over to the guys, Caden moving over so I could sit between him and his friend with the spiked hair, who ran his gaze over me without being discreet about it in the slightest.
Claire noisily snorted, drawing everyone’s attention to her to see what she’d do.
“Um, what the fuck are you doing? She’s a nobody for fuck’s sake!”
Caden gave me one of his sandwiches before glancing at her with a bored expression on his face.
“You done fucking squawking now?”
She looked horrified, but he gave her a small smile and faked a thought popping into his head. “Oh, I completely forgot. Everyone, listen up!”
The room went silent as all eyes turned to our table as Caden stood, motioning towards me with a big shit-eating grin. “Everyone, meet Aurora Donovan. She’s basically my new stepsister, so if anyone touches her, they will be dealing with me. Got that?”
Whispers and gasps sounded around the room as he sat back down, but Lukas stared at us from across the table with shock on his face, his fingers tugging on his lip ring absently.
“Hang on, the guy your mom’s banging is Max Donovan?”
Caden grinned, leaning back in his seat as he spoke.
“Yeah, they just moved in. Groovy, huh?”
His friend with the messy chocolate brown hair and pretty blue eyes checked me out without shame, finally smirking at Caden.
“Live-in pussy? Nice bro.”
My gaze snapped to his as I spoke in a low dangerous voice that made me sound tougher than I really was.
“No one fucking touches me. If you even try, I’ll slice your fucking diseased dick off and choke you with it.”
A wicked grin stretched across his face, but Caden snorted and gave his friend a serious look.
“Back off, Jense. Rory, this is Jensen Gilbert, and the guy beside you is Tyler Johnson.”
Jensen reached a hand across the table, and I grabbed my knife from my pocket, instantly slamming it down between his fingers and leaving it to stick up in the table.
Everyone in the room stayed silent as I kept my hard gaze on Jensen’s, and he finally looked slightly worried when I didn’t back down.
Fucking pussy.
I lifted my lip into a nasty smile, my voice dripping with sarcasm as I pulled my knife from the table and slid it back into my pocket.
“Like I said, don’t fucking touch me.”
“Jesus, okay. Holloway, she’s fucking crazy,” he mumbled, but that just made Caden chuckle with amusement.
He was such a fucking asshole.
“Yeah, she is, so watch it. You guys all up for meeting at my place tonight? Pizza and movies? I can’t be fucked hosting a party.”
I zoned out, letting the guys talk as I ate the sandwich he’d given me, but his voice snapped me out of my thoughts after a while.
“Rory? I asked if you were coming or not?”
I blinked with confusion, glancing around the table at the others.
“Where?”
“Home. Ride with me, yeah? It’s only study period, and no one sticks around for that shit,” he said lazily, watching me intensely as he waited for my answer.
I hated how everyone in the room seemed to be waiting for my response.
I finally shrugged. “Yeah sure, why not. Did you need me to fuck off tonight for your guys night thing? Because if you want…”
“You’re invited too, stupid,” he rolled his eyes, standing and clearing his tray, before waiting for the rest of us to follow his lead.
As we walked past Claire’s table, Caden moved from one side of me to the other, and I could hear the muttering and protests under people’s breaths at it.
I didn’t get why it was such a big deal.
Word had already spread through the school that Caden and the guys had put an end to the bullying on me, and everyone seemed to want to catch a glimpse of me as we all walked through the school and up to the parking lot together as a group.
Everyone split up to go to their cars, and Caden gave me an amused smile as I climbed into his Challenger and we drove towards home.
I was worried I’d moaned out loud about the car or something fucking stupid, but before I could worry about it for long, he spoke.
“You know, you’re about to become the most popular girl at school, right?”
“You mean unpopular. You saw how people glared at me. Why did you stand up for me anyways?” I muttered, peeking over at him to see him offer me a cigarette.
I hesitated before accepting it, lighting it before putting the window down.
“Because, you aren’t who I thought you’d be and to be honest, you cop enough bullshit at home. Besides, now I’ve said you’re with me, no one will mess with you. Claire might, but you just let me know and I’ll keep her in line, okay?”
“Caden…”
“Okay?” He asked sternly, waiting for me to nod before giving me a sly smile.
“So, do we make it look like we’re up to no good together in front of your dad, or what?”
“You’d be up for that?” I asked with surprise, making his smile widen.
“Hey, you wanna fuck in the kitchen and get caught, I’d be up for it. I mean, you’re hardly difficult to look at, Rory.”
Did he call me hot?
I was quiet for a while before giving him a small smile, hoping I didn’t look panicked by the thought.
“Maybe we could upset him a little? No fucking though.”